Family Day in Canada (the third Monday of February) is upon us. While it’s a statutory holiday with no school for BC, Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, you can incorporate some learning into your fun-filled day together. Below are some activity ideas to help make that happen.
5 Ways to Celebrate Family Day with Activities that Add a Dash of Education
1. Take an Organic Cooking Class
Children love getting involved in the kitchen (aside from doing dishes) but instead of tossing prepackaged meals into the microwave you can help them learn about whole food cooking. There are kid-friendly cooking classes in your city that focus on nutritious, organic, and holistic food preparation that make healthy eating both practical and fun. Taking a class together is a great way to bond while fostering important skills that your children will take with them into the future. If there are no cooking classes scheduled on the statutory holiday, you can take a class in the week prior, and then take what you’ve learned together and apply it at home on Family Day. You and your kids can whip together a delicious and nutritious dinner dish to be enjoyed by the entire household.
2. Outdoor Adventures
Family-based outdoor education is a concept that applies to all four seasons, even in Canada. Wherever in the country you may live there is a way for your brood to get outdoors, explore, and learn more. For instance, you can visit at a local community/urban garden that grows cold weather crops. Alternatively, you can take advantage of Mother Nature’s good work at this time of the year and use the lay of the land to your advantage. You can organize a scavenger hunt at a local eco-park, go winter wildlife spotting, and polish up on your winter scene photography skills. View more on these wintertime outdoor learning concepts here.
3. Visit an Environmental Sciences Activity Center
Some businesses may be closed but given the nature of the holiday most children and family focused activity destinations will be open, with a number of them focused on environmental sciences in some shape or form. These include aquariums, zoos, indoor/outdoor botanical gardens and biodomes. Environmental education is inherent to them all but the fun to be had is equally boundless.
4. Visit an Animal Farm / Sanctuary
Another fun outdoor learning activity awaits in the form of a farm visit near you. Throughout Canada there are farm-based animal sanctuaries that host and protect a variety of species that play a role in creating sustainable societies where wildlife and humans can coexist harmoniously. These Canada-wide farms offer families both guided and self-guided tours to see alpacas, llamas, goats, sheep, and even kangaroos. Some are seasonal (i.e. kangaroo farms) so be sure to call a local animal farm/sanctuary near you to see if they are open in February.
5. “Netflix and Chill” With Some Eco-Friendly Films
Family Day is in February, in Canada, so some of you may balk at the idea of leaving the house much less partaking in outdoor learning activities. Fair enough, but there are ways to keep the educational ball rolling while enjoying a cozy day huddled up together under the blanket. Whether your go-to for TV viewing is found on Netflix or other streaming service there is a collection of children’s films that will teach your kids about sustainability in a highly entertaining (for grownups too) way. We have laid out our top four eco-friendly movie picks here.
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